Through the great fortune that is being friendly at Velvet (which is my favorite dive bar), I incidentally made friends with a lovely gentleman who ended up being the bass tech of Jack's Mannequin. After lovely conversation, he generously invited me to come hang out backstage, take photos, and come to the after party to celebrate the LAST NIGHT OF THEIR TOUR WHOOO!

So I did.

And it was awesome! I hung out with the guys in Jack's Mannequin and their opening band, the soul singer Allen Stone and his band from Seattle. I took these wild and colorful photos, plus gads more that I just can't share (ahhh how I wish I could, but some things are meant to stay secret, you dig?). But enjoy! I love musicians' style, and these guys are right into it.

Derek, the wildly talented bass tech of Jack's.

Set list on the sound board.

I shot this jump pretty soft (out of focus) on purpose so you could get a better sense of movement. I love how he launched himself off the piano...great energy!

Derek was nice enough to give me my own monitor to listen to the show on...it sounds totally different! Amazing sound quality, and you can hear every piano note. Incredible.

Allen Stone and the guys stepped int to join the band on a wild doo-wop inspired number, complete with coordinated dance moves.